To celebrate, I’ll be doing brief previews of the matchups, and recaps for the games I am able to watch. I can only watch one game a day, so I will inevitably pick the wrong one to watch and write about. Apologies in advance, but that is just how it is going to be.
Paris Saint-Germain v. Chelsea
Tuesday Feb. 17, 2:45 ET
The first of the knockout round rematches (get used to this narrative) pits Ligue 1 giants (and European elite wannabees) PSG against Chelsea, leaders in the Premier League and, until their 4-2 disembowelment by Bradford FC (!!!) in the FA Cup, strong contenders for four trophies this year. Nevertheless, Chelsea’s attention was always going to be turned to the league and the UCL, and they face PSG at quite an unfortunate time for the Parisians. Despite their steep payroll and team of stars, PSG hasn’t been able to gel all season, instead relying on the brilliance of Zlatan to earn them points, which for the most part he has been able to do.
But for such an expensively assembled team to be so top heavy, you have to wonder if Chelsea will plan on trying to stifle Zlatan in order to force the rest of the team to get more involved. And who will that be, you ask? Well, it’s a bit hard to say considering four players were injured this past weekend, on top of preexisting injuries. When you’ve got names like Cabaye, Marquinhos, Lucas Moura, Pastore, Matuidi, and Thiago Motta on the shelf, that has got to be a mental blow (and if you don't know those names, know that they are all rather useful, some vital).
Yet with Zlatan, Cavani, and Thiago Silva all healthy, there is no reason to write PSG off yet, although Chelsea probably like their chances. This one could be thrilling (see PSG’s 3-2 win over Barcelona in the group stages) or a dud depending on how Chelsea approach it. No style points for all the methodical 2-0 wins the Blues have gotten in the league this year, but Mourinho shouldn’t care as long as his team progresses.
Tuesday Feb. 17, 2:45 ET
Ukrainian powerhouse Shakhtar Donetsk get the “pleasure” of hosting Bayern Munich at “home” in the first leg. I say pleasure and home facetiously because the conflict in Ukraine has forced Shakhtar to relocate across the country. Not much of a home field advantage, that.
Of the non-Big-5 European teams that make the UCL, Shakhtar seem to do pretty well. They can provide the elite teams with a challenge, although they probably wish they weren’t facing big, bad Bayern, who themselves are fresh off an 8-0 romp over hapless Hamburg. Bayern needed a boost going into this round, and they certainly got it with that win. They have depth for days, with quality players at every position. Even with the injuries they are dealing with, an offense boasting the likes of Lewandowski, Götze, Müller, Ribery, and an incredibly in-form Robben, must make Bayern feel confident going into this game.
Two weeks ago Wolfsburg showed the rest of Europe how to beat Bayern: absorb wave after wave of offensive pressure, and counter attack like mad by using speed to overmatch the excellent but not quick (and maybe not working well together) Xabi Alonso and Bastian Schweinsteiger. A repeat of that 4-1 game is extremely unlikely, but at least we know its possible to beat Bayern. Whether Shakhtar possess the ability to do the same remains to be seen. Maybe don’t bet on it, but if they can pull off a shock result, it’ll be a sight to behold.
***
Tomorrow I'll have a recap of whichever of these two games has a better stream (meaning I can actually watch it, thanks Fox) and I'll be previewing Wednesday's matchups of Schalke v. Real Madrid and Basel v. Porto.
No comments:
Post a Comment